WEST CHICAGO – In different ways, host Wheaton Academy and Downers Grove North were both tested in their Saturday showdown at the Wheaton Tournament.

The resulting 1-1 tie between the two squads indicated steps forward for both the shorthanded defending Class 3A semifinalist Trojans (6-3-3 and ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) and the no. 13 Class AA power Warriors (7-3-1).

For Wheaton Academy, the highlight of the match appeared almost instantly.

Erin Teevans was fouled away from the ball just 20 seconds into play, a strange scenario that would give the Warriors a quick 1-0 lead.

Danielle Bessey’s ensuing 45-yard free kick resulted in a Sophia Lindquist shot in the box that was deflected wide. That produced a Teevans corner kick, an Amy Alexander touch to the front from the back post, and a Lindquist point-blank putaway for a goal just 1:10 into the match.

“That (foul) got us a little bit fired up right away obviously,” Lindquist said. “Then Erin had a really good corner kick in, and Amy was on the back post and she just slotted it in. And I just kind of tapped it in.

“We just wanted to come out really strong,” Lindquist added. “We were excited to play again (after a 2-0 loss to Plainfield North on Friday), and I think we wanted to prove that we could compete with them because we definitely are good enough. We were hungry for the goal right away.”

Already having to deal with having key starters Amy Swanson and Carissa Mysliwiec out of the lineup for the weekend, the Trojans suddenly added adversity to the mix.

Downers Grove North coach Brian Papa summed up the improbable opening moments from his perspective.

“My head was down, and the next thing I hear yelling. I’m looking and the poor girl (Teevans) got clocked,” Papa said. “How do you get clocked in 10 seconds? I didn’t want to bring it up to her (his DGN player), because I know she feels bad. But it all stemmed from that.

“Then we let the ball go in the back, my goalkeeper misjudges a cross, and we watch the ball bounce and it goes into the middle. So it’s all a matter of 45 seconds to a minute of not being ready.”

“I was hoping that we would come out with a lot of fight in us,” Brooke said. “Anytime you’re playing a big school like Downers Grove North, after playing the night before, you really want to lean on that desire and passion to get yourself going.

“To come out the way we did, I was very proud of the girls. I also thought we didn’t change the way we were playing. Sometimes you get that goal (to lead 1-0) and you start hanging on for 78 minutes. I thought we played, we competed, and I liked playing Downers Grove. They’re a good team.”

The Trojans’ talent and perseverance began to show in the fifth minute, when passes by Alyssa Gunderson and Carli Nehls set up an Alexis Parker 20-yard shot just over the net.

DGN survived another big Wheaton Academy challenge in the 11th minute of play -- a Teevans left side run into the box off a Lindquist pass. But Olivia Bull nicely denied Teevans a shot on a good 1-v.-1 defensive play.

“We’re taking Carissa out of the back, and I’m finding out that if those two (Bull and Marconi) get comfortable back there, I can put Carissa in the middle of the field and that makes us much stronger.

“After that (Warriors early goal), we were trying to do some new things, and we had some girls out,” Papa added. “That gave some juniors an opportunity, and I thought the second half we played the way I wanted us to do.”

Early in that second half, senior Nowka’s extra effort at the offensive end helped draw the Trojans into a tie.

With 33:57 left, Nowka’s initial right side attack was dulled on a blocked shot by Wheaton Academy’s Lizzy Swoboda. But Nowka retrieved the rebound and nicely struck a 20-yard shot.

While Nowka’s attempt hit the crossbar, Alexis Parker was on the spot for the point-blank rebound score at the left side of the net (her fourth goal of the season) to tie the score 1-1.

“Chloe Nowka’s been playing in the back and the front line,” Papa said. “Chloe is a pistol out there. She got a big assist yesterday and a big assist today.

“We put her on the front line (in the second half) because we weren’t generating any scoring,” Papa added. “Now I have Carli (Nehls) going good, and Alexa, and we’re getting them to turn and not play with their backs to the ball.”

Nowka summed up both DGN’s approach to early adversity, and her approach on the tying goal.

“I have a lot of confidence in all of us, so I had a good feeling that wasn’t going to be the end,” Nowka said of the quick 1-0 deficit.

As for helping make it a 1-1 tie?

“I always keep looking to go forward,” Nowka said, “and then I’m like ‘I need to beat this person and then this person.’ I keep motivating myself to go forward, and then if I see it open I just shoot. It didn’t go in, but it went off the post so ... ”

Tough to deny near the net, Parker did the rest to finish the play.

Otherwise, the second half featured dueling chances by the quality sides.

For Wheaton Academy, Rebecca Steininger’s header off a Teevans pass with 35:20 left was stopped by DGN goalkeeper Grace Stevenson. Then after the tying goal, the Trojans threatened again with 30:35 to go when Julia Bauer’s 20-yard shot off a deflected Bull 49-yard free kick went wide left.

Jump ahead to 21:15 left, and the start of another six-minute sequence of back-to-back threats. First it was a push into the box by DGN’s Nehls and Victoria Finklea (ending with a deflection on goal). Then came two Warriors chances – Teevans’ 12-yard shot saved by Stevenson (off a nice Lindquist pass with 18:45 left), followed by another Stevenson stop with 15:30 left on a 15-yard A.C. Hardy liner.

“The center forward (Teevans) got by us two or three times, but we adjusted to it,” Papa said. “And for the most part, we kept the ball away from them. That kept them from being effective. I’m happy that we fought back.

“What’s happening is, we’re controlling play on most teams we play. We’re really not on our heels. And we have Abby and Carissa out today, so I was very pleased with the juniors stepping up.

“They were dying out there,” Papa added. “This is a long field, and two days in a row (after DGN’s 2-0 win over Wheaton North in Friday’s tournament opener). Wheaton Academy is very good, and Abby and Carissa are two of my top players from last year.”

The Trojans endured that array of challenges presented Saturday to nearly produce a late game-winner.

With 7:30 left, a Parker-to-Gunderson attack set up a corner kick. Bull’s ensuing corner send into the scrum found junior Bryn Hueberger in front, but her shot was blocked in the crease and cleared.

Then with 2:35 to play, juniors Finklea and Julia Kramper teamed up on a DGN threat which ended with Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Marta Oster’s save on Kramper’s 28-yard shot.

Hardy’s midfield 50-50 ball win and send with 10 seconds left put the cap on the 1-1 tie, which began for the Warriors with explosive offense and ended with a successful stand against a Class 3A heavyweight.

“I think it’s awesome to play teams like this,” Lindquist said, “just to stretch us and prove to ourselves that we can. And we could have beaten them too.

“It’s always awesome to get better by playing teams that are obviously really good and have gotten far in state in 3A. Good opportunities for us.

“I feel good,” Lindquist added. “We definitely have a lot of hunger to get better every day, which is awesome. We’re just learning to connect more as a team. We have all the pieces – we have what we need.”

To Brooke, the entire tournament will be priceless preparation for the challenges ahead.

“What we’re trying to do is stretch ourselves now so we get the best out of ourselves,” Brooke said of the Warriors’ Class 3A-heavy schedule.

“Even this tournament with the level of teams that are in it – Plainfield North who we played last night I thought was fantastic, Downers Grove was fourth in state last year, and Wheaton North a great kind of crosstown rival - we’re trying to set ourselves up to be stretched. And that’s what it’s doing for us. I think we’re getting the best out of ourselves. And that’s what we want ... so in May you’re not surprised by when teams play a different formation or have a star player. I think we’re growing.”

Another positive for the Warriors was their ability to kept the Trojans at bay in the first half.

Reserves Faith Pollino and freshman Allie Dominguez had consecutive steals in a DGN offensive sequence 25 minutes in, Hardy followed with a nice win and send later in the half, and sophomores Bessey and Emma Goebel were strong defenders throughout the match.

“I thought Emma Goebel in the back was great,” Brooke said. “I don’t think she ever gets enough credit, just because what center back does?

“And I thought Erin was dangerous up-top, which was great. She’s such a profound player for us.”

Battling back to earn a tie despite missing two key players, the Trojans had similar reason for optimism Saturday.

“We just made sure to stay tight in the back (after the early goal), always covering for each other,” Nowka said. “We always tried to win every ball that we could.”

And with memories of a long postseason run and state trophy still fresh, DGN doesn’t lack motivation.

“Our goal is to be back in the same place that we were before, so we keep driving to be there,” Nowka said.

“I think we just need to keep doing what we’re doing. Their goal (Saturday) was off a corner kick, and sometimes those don’t work out when you’re defending those. But I think we played well. We just got unlucky on the corner kick.”

For Papa, being very good remains a quest for perfection – a drive that has produced state tournament success in his coaching stops at Lincoln-Way East and now Downers Grove North.

“I’m trying to get them to understand that the game of soccer is not just kicking the ball,” Papa said. “It’s not foosball. There has to be change of pace, and you have to dribble the ball.

“Most of the things we’re yelling (from the sidelines) are to dribble. This is a soccer pitch. There’s so much room, and the room is along the side and dribbling on angles.

“They’re learning,” Papa added. “We did get a goal, we had great opportunities, and the defense did the best they could. We kept them at bay most of the time in the second half.”

About four weeks before the state tournament, Papa hopes to again have the Trojans on the rise heading into May.

“The key right now is there’s a time to play combination, and not to,” he said. “I think it starts with the two center backs. I just have to teach them depth, because they’re getting flat too much.

“We’re doing fine,” Papa added. “Our biggest problem is trying to get a bench that I can get comfortable with. Without the practices and with spring (weather) being the way it is it’s been tough, but they’re getting better because we got to practice and play two games like this.”